Dreaming of Venice

by Dreaming of Venice (retail) (epub)

  ‘That’s the café in Piccadilly?’

  ‘That’s right. The JC café.’

  ‘Well, how would it be if I get Arthur to bring me round to your house in half an hour or so, if you wouldn’t mind? We could have a little chat and then he can give you a lift to work so you’re there in time for four. Would that be all right?’ She sounded positively charming and Penny had a sudden thought. Maybe this affability was to soften the blow when she broke the news that Penny was fired. Maybe, Penny thought with dismay, she wouldn’t be going to Venice after all. She replied automatically, a feeling of dread descending upon her. It was like the call from Owen all over again. Her voice almost broke with emotion as she replied.

  ‘Erm, yes, that’s fine. Do you know where I live?’

  ‘Olivia tells me you’re sharing with Caroline. That’s right, isn’t it?’

  Penny confirmed that this was the case and Mrs B-W rang off, leaving Penny staring blindly down at the open suitcase, her hopes crumbling beneath her. She stood there blankly for quite a while before realising that in little more than twenty minutes, Mrs B-W would be here. She turned and ran downstairs.

  Caroline was at work and the lounge was fairly tidy. Penny grabbed the vacuum cleaner and ran it round the room, then straightened a few cushions and removed the bits and pieces left on the coffee table. She had a moment of panic when she wondered if there was milk and sugar in the house. She knew there was tea. She ran through to the kitchen and checked, discovering with relief that all was well. She located the nicest mugs and, although they had just come out of the dishwasher, she washed them again, all the while getting more and more worked up at thought of the interview coming up. What, she kept asking herself, had she done to annoy Mrs B-W? She had hardly seen her for weeks now.

  She was still turning this over in her head when the front doorbell rang. She was so tense by this time, she almost dropped the mugs. Hastily setting them on a tray, she wiped her hands and headed out to face the music.

  ‘Hello, Mrs Brookes-Webster. Would you like to come in?’

  Unusually, Mrs B-W was smiling. Somehow, this was even more sinister than her usual look of barely-concealed animosity. To Penny’s surprise, Mrs B-W hesitated politely.

  ‘If you’re sure, Penny. It occurred to me in the car that I should have offered to take you out somewhere rather than just descending upon you like this. Would you like to go somewhere for tea?’

  ‘Um, no, it’s fine, really.’ If she was going to get fired, Penny knew she would prefer it not to be in a public place, just in case she burst into tears or, more probably, walloped Mrs B-W across the face. ‘Come in, please.’ She ushered Mrs B-W into the lounge and showed her to a seat, then she ran out to the kitchen and put the kettle on, before rushing back in again, feeling decidedly flustered. She sat down opposite Mrs B-W and made an attempt at a smile. Mrs B-W, on the other hand, managed a real smile.

  ‘Penny, I’ve come to say thank you.’

  Penny felt her jaw drop. ‘Thank me?’

  Olivia’s stepmother was still smiling. ‘That’s right, for helping to lift a great weight from my mind.’ Seeing Penny’s bafflement, she explained. ‘You know I’m not Olivia’s real mother, don’t you? Even so, we’re very close and I’ve been worried sick about her ever since my husband died. It’s only now, months later, that she’s coming out of the deep depression into which she’d descended, and a lot of the credit for that is down to you, Penny.’

  Mrs B-W wasn’t the only one to have had a great weight lifted from her mind. Penny’s mood of despondency disappeared like a flash and her heart sang at the knowledge that it definitely looked as though she wasn’t about to be sacked. So she would, after all, be going to Venice! Feeling like Cinderella with her foot sitting snugly in the glass slipper, she produced a broad smile as she replied. ‘I’m really pleased if I’ve been able to help in any way. I like Olivia a lot and I’m as delighted as you are to see her coming out of her shell once more.’ She caught Mrs B-W’s eye. ‘I went shopping with her this morning and we were even talking about boys. And, more importantly, she reckons she’s just about ready to take over from me again, going out, meeting people.’

  ‘That’s excellent news.’ Mrs B-W’s expression became more serious. ‘You can’t imagine just how good that makes me feel. I’m no fool, Penny, and I know I’ve been very grumpy of late. The fact is that last Easter I lost my husband and my daughter in one go. He died and she turned in on herself and I’ve been left all alone, trying to keep going, but it’s been terribly hard. I knew next to nothing about my husband’s Foundation and yet I found myself thrown into the thick of it and I’ve been terrified people would realise just how little I know. I suppose I’ve been putting up barriers to hide my insecurity. I’ve been feeling very vulnerable and so awfully lonely.’ Penny could hear the catch in her voice and see the tears in the corners of her eyes. A wave of sympathy swept over her, and she jumped to her feet.

  ‘What you need is a nice cup of tea. Just give me a moment.’ She disappeared out to the kitchen and by the time she returned with the tea, Olivia’s stepmum had had time to collect herself once more.

  ‘Milk and sugar?’

  ‘Just milk please, Penny.’ Mrs B-W managed a weak smile. ‘I’m sorry for burdening you with my troubles.’

  ‘Not in the slightest. We all need to talk about stuff. You can’t just keep things bottled up. I’m just so pleased that Olivia’s doing so much better and, if you don’t mind me saying so, I’ve never seen you so bright and happy. Here’s hoping you both get back to living and enjoying life again.’

  They spent almost half an hour chatting and Penny, once she had managed to dismiss her initial astonishment that this version of Olivia’s stepmother was a really nice person, actually enjoyed the experience. To her surprise, partway through the afternoon, Mrs B-W made an unexpected request.

  ‘Olivia’s been telling me about your upcoming exhibition. I don’t suppose I could see any of your work, could I?’

  Penny led her out to the studio in the garden. ‘Some of the canvases are already at the gallery in Piccadilly, but I can show you the others if you like.’ She pulled out the remainder of her work and propped the paintings against the wall. Mrs B-W made her way around the room, inspecting each of them and making some very complimentary remarks, until she reached Penny’s first abstract work, the one she had landed on with her naked body. Mrs B-W stopped dead and stared at it for a good long while, before turning to Penny, an expression of admiration on her face.

  ‘This is magnificent. I just love it.’ She caught Penny’s eye. ‘I don’t suppose you’d be prepared to sell it, would you?’

  ‘There’s no need for that, really. If all goes well, the gallery will manage to sell some of my work and then my career will hopefully take off.’ She was deeply touched at Mrs B-W’s generosity, but she didn’t want her to buy a painting just because she was trying to be make up for her earlier frostiness.

  ‘Of course they will. What sort of prices are they going to be asking?’

  Penny shook her head, still amazed and appalled at the valuation Ernesto had put on her work. ‘A small fortune. I think the smaller ones are going to be about fifteen hundred pounds and he’s even talking about three to four thousand for the bigger ones.’

  ‘And what size is this?’ Mrs B-W’s eyes were still locked on the abstract canvas.

  ‘One of the larger canvasses, I suppose.’

  ‘So how about I write you a cheque for four thousand pounds? I just love it and I know it’ll look phenomenal on the wall of the lounge.’

  Penny swallowed hard. This one wasn’t part of the winter exhibition so she was still free to sell it, but four thousand pounds…? ‘I couldn’t possibly accept that amount. The gallery takes fifty per cent so, if you really want to buy it, you could have it for two thousand, maybe?’ Penny could feel her heart racing.

  ‘That’s very kind of you, but you mustn’t just give your precious work away. Why don’
t we split the difference? I’ll write you a cheque for three thousand. Have we got a deal?’ Mrs B-W held out her hand and Penny shook it, her head spinning.

  ‘Erm, yes, thank you. Thank you very much indeed.’

  Chapter 16

  Caroline and Penny flew to Venice in a private jet. Penny was appalled at the expense, but Caroline told her it was necessary so as to stay in character. ‘If Olivia decides to make a few changes to her lifestyle in the future, that’s up to her, but for the moment we’d better try to make it look as genuine as possible. Besides, you never know who you’ll meet at the airport.’

  Penny could barely contain her excitement as she settled into one of the luxurious leather armchairs inside the surprisingly roomy little aircraft. This was it. At long last her dream of visiting Venice was about to be realised. She glanced out of the porthole windows at the damp grey tarmac outside and for a moment, an image of a dark-haired gondolier sculling up the Grand Canal in brilliant sunshine filled her head. She had had a pretty tough few months, what with Rick’s affair and then the body blow from Owen, so the surge of anticipation pulsing through her body brought a smile to her face even before they took off. She was going to Venice! She felt happier than she had been for ages.

  The pilot was sitting only a few steps from them, and Penny could see all the dials and buttons in the cockpit. She had never experienced anything like this before and she was fascinated. The difference from any flight she had taken before was highlighted when the co-pilot offered them champagne or tea before takeoff. Both girls glanced at each other and then opted for champagne. Penny grinned across at Caroline as the cork popped and the wine was poured. ‘I suppose we’d better not drink it all between the two of us. Pity we haven’t brought Nick, he could have shared it with us and, besides, he could have saved a few pounds in airfare.’

  Caroline shook her head ruefully and lowered her voice. ‘That would’ve been good, but it would have been out of character. No, it’s got to look right.’ She grinned at Penny. ‘But, somehow, it wouldn’t surprise me if we do manage to finish the bottle.’

  ‘So, talking of Nick, are you and he going to give in to your animal desires at long last here in Venice?’ Caroline blushed bright red and Penny grinned. ‘You can’t keep the poor man waiting too long.’

  ‘I sincerely hope so. It’s not just the poor man who’s been waiting.’

  ‘Good for you, girl. After all, what use is love at first sight if it doesn’t develop into something tangible? And when I say tangible, I mean touchy-feely, rumpy pumpy.’ As she spoke, she thought back to the tryst in Oxford that had never happened and her mystery man who was now lost to her forever. She gave a little sigh for what might have been, but her moment of gloom only lasted until the aircraft started moving. As the roar of the engines increased, her heart sang. She was going to Venice!

  Caroline turned back towards Penny, looking as happy at the prospect of visiting Venice as she was, although for different reasons. ‘By the way, Penny, Olivia asked me to give you this.’ Caroline passed over a white envelope from her bag. Penny opened it and found it stuffed with money. Caroline saw the expression on her face and explained. ‘There’s a thousand euros in there. She said you should have the money for any unexpected expenses.’ She grinned. ‘No need to account for it. Anything you don’t spend is yours at the end of the week.’

  ‘Blimey.’ Penny didn’t know what else to say. As it was, she was going to pick up a pay check of five thousand pounds at the end of the week. With that and the three thousand for the painting Mrs B-W had bought, her financial worries, at least in the short to medium term, would be sorted.

  The flight took less than two hours and included an excellent cold meal with the offer of fine wine, although they both decided that the champagne they were drinking was enough. Nice as the wine would have been, Penny wanted to be in a fit state to appreciate the delights of Venice without a hangover. They flew across France and then over the already snow-covered Alps. As they cleared the mountains and started to descend, Penny got her first good look at the unique and wonderful city, La Serenissima. From high up she could see the wide plain leading off from the mountains towards the Mediterranean and there, in all its amazing beauty, lay Venice itself, a mass of red roofs and monuments, cleft in two by the Grand Canal. All around the city was the lagoon with a host of islands, far more than she had been expecting, set amongst reeds and mud banks. As they dropped lower, the boats crisscrossing the lagoon were clearly visible, their white wakes marking the shallow waters, like chalk marks on a blackboard.

  ‘Did you know that there are more than a hundred islands in the Venice lagoon?’ Penny was so caught up with the view, she hardly heard Caroline at first. She turned towards her, hearing from her voice that Caroline was enjoying being her guide.

  ‘Wow. That many? I somehow thought there was just Venice itself and one or two more. I know there’s Murano, the place they make the glass.’

  ‘That’s right, but there are loads of others islands, some uninhabited, a few big enough to have roads. You can see why the standard way of travelling round these parts is by boat.’

  ‘Excuse me ladies, we’re on our final approach now. Could you fasten your seatbelts, please?’ The co-pilot was so close to them, all he had to do was turn his head to give the instruction.

  Looking out of the window again, all Penny could see was water beneath them as she heard the sound of the wheels coming down. She glanced across at Caroline and whispered. ‘He does know this isn’t a seaplane, doesn’t he?’

  ‘Don’t worry. He knows what he’s doing.’ As they came in to land, Penny was glued to the window. Venice Marco Polo airport is built so that it protrudes out into the lagoon and their final approach was entirely over water. They dropped lower and lower until finally, just as it looked as though Penny’s prediction of a sea landing was to come true, tarmac appeared beneath them and almost immediately afterwards the aircraft touched down lightly. Penny looked across at Caroline and grinned.

  ‘That’s a relief. I didn’t bring my water wings.’

  ‘You could probably stand up in a lot of the lagoon. It’s very shallow, you know.’

  ‘Deep, shallow, I’m just grateful we didn’t land in water. So, how do we get from here to the hotel? Do we get to see the view?’ Penny checked her watch. It was almost three o'clock. At this time of year they probably only had another hour or two of daylight.

  ‘We’ll take a water taxi. We’ve got a bit of a walk down to the pier, but we’ll get a porter to carry our bags.’

  The formalities were dispensed with very quickly. Penny was travelling on her own passport so as to stay on the right side of the law and both of them were waved through the VIP entrance by the officer on duty, along with their bags. Caroline had insisted that Penny should bring two big suitcases, even though Penny had objected that there was no way she would be able to wear all those clothes in just six days. Caroline’s answer had been predictable.

  ‘This is how Olivia and her stepmum travel, so you’ve got to do the same. You never know when a dinner invitation’s going to pop up and, of course, you can’t be seen twice in the same clothes.’ She grinned. ‘That would bring shame upon the Brookes-Webster family name.’

  Outside the airport it was very cold, close to freezing, although the sky was clear and a weak winter sun was shining. Both girls pulled their coats tight around themselves as they followed the porter and his trolley along a walkway down to the waterside. It only took a few minutes, but Penny was frozen by the time she got there. Clearly, Venice was going to demand more layers and thicker clothing than London.

  The water taxi was a beautiful, sleek, highly-varnished vessel with room inside for about ten people, although Caroline had taken this one for their sole use. The porter stowed their bags for them and Penny reached for some of the banknotes she had just been given, but Caroline shook her head. ‘Leave it to me.’ She gave the man a tip and Penny thanked him in Italian. As the man went off, Car
oline frowned and lowered her voice. ‘Olivia doesn’t speak Italian so it’s probably best if you don’t either. Don’t worry, English’ll get you anywhere in Venice.’

  Penny nodded in realisation. She would have enjoyed practising her Italian, but she had a job to do. English it would be from now on.

  In spite of the racy appearance of the boat, it cruised along relatively slowly. The driver explained in quite fluent English that there were speed limits all over the lagoon, to avoid waves being created that could lead to the erosion of banks and foundations of buildings. In consequence, they had a very leisurely ride over to the city of Venice and Penny had ample time to savour the view. Every fifty metres or so, there were tripods marking the channel, made of hefty wooden timbers, thicker than telegraph poles. Seabirds perched on top of almost every one; mainly seagulls, but from time to time there were beautiful white ibis, cormorants with their wings extended like sinister vampires, and even a massive statuesque grey heron on one of them. Penny sat back and relaxed, breathing in deeply, the sense of gloom that had settled upon her since Owen’s declaration definitely beginning to wane. She glanced across at Caroline, enjoying the feel of a smile on her face.

  ‘It’s a really, really great feeling when you’re fulfilling a lifelong dream. I’ve dreamt about coming to Venice since I was a little girl. Did I ever tell you I have dreams about Venice?’

  Caroline gave her a grin. ‘Let me guess, with a handsome gondolier or two?’

  Penny grinned back. ‘How did you know? Anyway, like I say, it’s been a thing for me for years. I’ve been fascinated by the idea of a town without cars, without congestion, with no noise.’